How Villas-Boas can regain his credibility with Europa success
LONDON --
Andre Villas-Boas is still only 37 years old. He is a coach who rose rapidly, was dismissed almost as rapidly and stands, perhaps, on the brink of rehabilitation. His Zenit St. Petersburg stands eight points clear at the top of the Russian Premier League with six games of the season remaining, while the UEFA Europa League offers the opportunity of yet greater success. If Zenit can overcome a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of the quarterfinal against Sevilla (live, Thursday, FOX Sports 2, 3:05 p.m. ET) and go on to win the tournament, Villas-Boas would become only the third manager -- after Rafael Benitez and Giovanni Trapattoni -- to win the competition with more than one club.
It was the Europa League that made Villas-Boas' name as he took Porto to the title in 2011, the season in which he led Porto unbeaten through the Portuguese league season. That was seen as unveiling him as the new Jose Mourinho, who had also led Porto to the trophy in 2003. Mourinho went on to win the UEFA Champions League the following year, but such is the accelerated nature of modern football that Villas-Boas found himself immediately appointed at Chelsea.
Was he worried about the speed of his ascent, he was asked. Not at all, he replied. He intended to retire young to indulge his fascination with racing cars. It was probably simply guileless honesty -- certainly there was no sense of this being a statement of intent as it may have been had Mourinho uttered the same line -- but it hinted at an arrogance and a self-confidence, not only in the assumption of success, but in the way it suggested he could walk away from football whenever he wanted. In an industry still full of old men who cannot give up the dream, forever pursuing one last hit, it was not a sentiment that went down well.
Villas-Boas struggled to handle certain egos at Chelsea, dropped down to Tottenham, struggled to handle certain egos there and found himself written off at an age when most coaches hadn't even been appointed to a first job. Given how prickly Villas-Boas can be, it may be that working in an environment in which most transactions go through an interpreter actually suits him. Certainly the move to Russia has allowed him to re-evaluate his approach. He seems calmer now and his reputation is of a methodical, thoughtful coach; whereas at Tottenham there were constant stories of him texting players with jokes, asking what their plans were, as though he weren't the boss but wanted to be part of their gang. Distance has leant authority.
He's spent most of this week trying to play down expectations. Given Sevilla's home record and given how many players he was without, the 2-1 defeat in the first leg was some achievement, and Villas-Boas must take some of the credit for that after adopting a 5-4-1 shape that Zenit hadn't previous used. Both first-choice fullbacks, Domenico Criscito and Igor Smolnikov are back from suspension for the second leg, as is the explosive forward Hulk and the elegant Portuguese playmaker Danny.
Danny joined Zenit in 2008 and made his debut with a man-of-the-match performance against Manchester United in the European Super Cup final, scoring the second goal in a 2-1 win. That helped win over fans skeptical about his fee and about the letter D he has tattooed on his wrist: He insists it is just his initial, but fans suspected it was a reference to his former club, Dinamo Moscow, one of Zenit's traditional rivals. Danny is 31 and will move to Besiktas when his contract expires is the summer. Whatever happens over the next month, he will leave as a legend of the club, but there would be something fitting if he were to leave as he came in: With a European trophy.
The experienced midfield Anatoly Tymoschuk is back to full fitness, but centerback Ezequiel Garay and Aleksandr Ryazantsev, who scored Zenit's goal in the first leg, are both suspended. In the two previous knockout rounds, Zenit beat both PSV and Torino at home without conceding a goal. A repeat would take it through and take Villas-Boas a step nearer to credibility again.
Benitez is looking to equal Trapattoni's record of three UEFA Cup or Europa Leagues, although he would have own his with three different clubs. After a superb first leg in Germany, his Napoli leads Wolfsburg 4-1 and will surely progress to the semifinal. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg away to Dynamo Kyiv, Fiorentina is well-placed to join it, while Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk probably just holds the edge over Club Brugge after a goalless draw in Belgium.